This page is based on a thread I made on Bluesky and duplicated to Tumblr. If you don't have access to either of those platforms, this page is for you!
In honor of a twitter thread hosted by TeamICOfan非公式企画 (run by the artist wncky, aka サトヱ), I've made a list of guesses for what each of Yorda's hieroglyphs represent.
Like that original thread, I encourage others to share their own guesses, feel free to use the guestbook for this purpose.
Each glyph has a corresponding letter in the English alphabet. The organized rows of them that appear on Page 2 of the Official ICO Guidebook denote which is which.
The rule, with only one confirmed exception, is that each hieroglyph will depict something beginning with that English letter. But it's also worth remembering that Japanese language still plays an important role in the interpretation.
Some of the English words selected could derive from Kanji with synonyms and associations (typically listed out in a JP-to-ENG dictionary) that native English speakers may not think of.
Best Guess - Ant「蟻」
Best Guess - Bird「鳥」
Best Guess - Cage「檻」
Various Guesses - Duck「縮める」 Dive「潜る」 Down「下」
For a time, I also wondered if, because the character's pose is similar to the way Yorda is found sleeping in her cage, the glyph might represent the word 'Daughter'.
But I find myself doubtful of that lately.
Best Guess - East「東」
The sun always rises in the East.
No Guess
There are very similar symbols found on the sacrificial capsules.
However, I find it difficult to attribute any 'F' term to this without a pretty big stretch...
Best Guess - Giant「巨人」
It even looks like if you stacked the two kanji atop each other in a certain way.
If it's true this is 'giant', it might be referencing the cut 'enemy_l'...
Various Guesses - Hide「隠れる」Hold「持つ」
I'm more inclined towards the former possibility, since it would reference Ico hiding his full body behind the cover of the stone idols found in The Queen's throne room.
Notice it's not one structure here. You might think of that bottom half as a distant lower eyelid, but I instead offer this reading:
Top half = eye opened
Bottom half = eye closed
Best Guess - Instant「瞬時」
瞬時 [Jisho]
"instant; moment; (split) second; (in a) flash; (in the) blink of an eye."
Many native English speakers have proposed the idea that the hieroglyph above represented a singular Eye, which represented the sound native English speakers make (IPA: aɪ / Katakana: アイ) when saying "I".
But after finding this phrase amid the kanji's synonyms, and knowing 'eye' would make an exception to the established first letter rule, I very much doubt that.
Best Guess - Janitor「守衛」
Ok, that sounds silly. Until you look at the synonyms associated with that role.
"(security) guard; caretaker; doorkeeper; gatekeeper" [Jisho]
These sound fitting of the roles that cut Castle Soldiers would occupy, in the PS1 iteration of the game.
The 老兵 (Old Soldier) was even reported, by a former developer, to have been responsible for menial and routine tasks around the Castle, which included cleaning, and the inspection of torches. This role sounds fitting of a janitor, and it's placed upon the eldest of the Soldier types...
ざっくまん/Zackmann⭐趣味垢
@zackmannx.bsky.social
PS1用として
・将校（赤いシャツ）
・軍曹（緑のシャツ）
・一般兵士（青いシャツ。ヨルダを連れ去ったりイコを攻撃する。ICO Prototypeの動画に出てくる）
・老兵士（城の雑務、松明の点検、掃除などを行う）
以上、4種類の敵兵士を作成しました。その後、影の敵（PS2版）に変更になりました。
— Jun 2, 2025
Best Guess - Kneel「跪く」
These figures can also be seen on the sacrificial capsules, albeit, with straighter backs. Perhaps the lower posture seen here is to emphasize their humility or respect?
Best Guess - Lure「餌」
An alternative definition for the term is: (animal) feed.
Some motion files had their Japanese descriptions recently uncovered in the files of a demo build. A bird animation (titled 'BIRD_EAT' in English) was described as: 鳥餌食べ
"Bird eating animal feed"
Potentially, worms.
But keep in mind that is speculation, without full context.
Best Guess - Moon「月」
Honorable Attempt - Molting「脱皮」
So, to explain the latter entry first, for a while I was very doubtful of the idea that the right half of the image was a cloud. I thought such an idea was unneccessary to convey the subject of 'moon' and so I tried to intepret the image from an entirely different angle. In doing so, I strayed too far, but did find a lot of cool trivia to share. And for that reason, I will talk about it anyway.
A quote from one of Fumito Ueda's interviews kicked off my insect molt theory:
--Tell us something about Yorda, Ico's companion, that we don't already know.
"She wears a white dress [...] it's also inspired from the white, transparent form that cicadas take when they come out of their shell." -Fumito Ueda, Glixel Interview
I knew it wasn't just cicadas on his mind during the development of e-koʊ. The Shadow Creatures have names given in the game's files.
Imomushi (caterpillar), Tyou (butterfly), and Umiushi (nudibrach) stood out to me. There's a thread tying some of these concepts together:
Caterpillars develop a chrysalis that they must shed in order to become butterflies. And nudibranches must shed their shells after their larval stage. These elements all pointed to ecdysis.
So I wondered if that 'moon' was a crescent shaped pupa or chrysalis, with something emerging from it at a 90° angle. This was, of course, too high concept, and I found a simpler explanation existed in cut content.
[implications of 'moon_fog']
